Dine 100ft in the sky at North East restaurant hoisted on crane

Ross Robertson

A unique dining experience is set to hit the North East this summer with some of the region’s best chefs cooking up a storm – 100 feet above the ground.

Dine by the Tyne is to dominate the skyline from May 12 to 15 as a sky table restaurant is suspended above Gateshead’s Performance Square, giving guests a once in a lifetime experience - which will see them hoisted higher than the Angel of the North.

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The idea is the brainchild of Off the Wall’s event manager Jacqui McKirdy who thought it up after a hard day at Uni.

She said: “We were sat in Wetherspoon’s after a tough day and I looked up at the Tyne Bridge and I thought, why not get a restaurant up there.

“I got in touch with Dale Agar the licence holder for the sky table in the UK and eventually it lead to getting a table booked for one day.”

The one day idea became a four day spell after a friend suggested she “go big” – and go big she has, with the sky table set to make nine flights a day over the residence starting with breakfast at 8.30am.

Each of the 32 flights will see chefs serving their specialities to 22 diners from the centre of the suspended restaurant.

The flights available are breakfast, lunch, champagne high tea, pie in the sky, evening dinner and night cap, with The Crowne Plaza holding an after party over the weekend.

The sky table has made a visit to Tyneside once before in 2008 when it was suspended at the Gateshead Civic Centre as part of the EAT festival that year.

As Jacqui explains, the 2016 version is set to be bigger and better.

“The table is set for more people, we have some award winning chefs lined up and the view is going to be stunning. The whole event should be something completely different.

“The sun is due to set shortly after 9pm so if you are up there dining on that flight that should be something unbelievably special when you consider the views on a clear day.”

Thursday and Friday will be topped off by a Gin Tasting session between 9.45pm and 10.15pm, while Saturday and Sunday will see cocktails and uniquely stunning bar snacks provided.

The guest chefs will be announced in the coming weeks, with each bringing their own taste of Tyneside to the table.